Producing hydrogen with a conventional electrolysis system uses electricity to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water molecules, but one big drawback to this method is the need for highly purified water as a source. But a new technology from HyperSolar eliminates this need, as it claims its nanotechnology can use "any source of water, including seawater and wastewater" to produce hydrogen, which would significantly reduce both the number of steps in the process, as well as the cost involved.

HyperSolar's new technology uses a low-cost polymer coating and a small-scale solar device together to make a self-contained particle that can separate hydrogen from any water, using just the Sun's energy.

"Using our self-contained particle in a low cost plastic bag, we have successfully demonstrated our ability to mimic photosynthesis to produce renewable hydrogen from virtually any source of water using the power of the Sun. Unlike approaches taken by others in the past, our small scale solar devices actually float in the water. Our next step is to complete the development of our nanoparticles, extremely small solar devices, optimized to significantly reduce the cost of separating hydrogen from water." - Tim Young, CEO of HyperSolar

HyperSolar and University of California, Santa Barbara recently entered into a yearlong sponsored research agreement to help the company accelerate the development process. For more info on the company and its technology, go to HyperSolar.com.